Novelty device



Jan. 28, 1964 s RUFFMAN 3,119,563

NOVELTY DEVICE Filed Feb. 28, 1961 INVEIYJJOR. famue Z Eu i i/27amUnited States Patent Ofifice 3,119,563 Patented Jan. 28, 1964 3,119,563NOVELTY DEVECE Sam H. Rniiman, t'lamhria Heights, N.Y., assignor toAction Enterprises 1nd, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York IFiled Feb. 28, 1951, Ser. No. 92,232 1 Claim. (Cl. 240-6. 3)

The present invention relates generally to novelty devices, and moreparticularly to such a device having a structural form which isornamental and is equipped with the elements of an open electric circuitadapted to be closed to energize the element thereof responsive to acurrent of electricity, such as an electric light bulb, a buzzer, avibrator, or other electrical unit.

Heretotore, novelties such as illuminated brooches, earrings, ornamentsand the like have been made, both of the steady burning and the flashinglight type, but in every such known instance the device has been merelyan illuminable object of the character which its descriptive nameclearly identifies. The present invention, on the other hand, is basedupon an entirely different concept, although it necessarily utilizessome elements basically similar to those found in the devices referredto.

In its broader aspects, the concept of the present inventioncontemplates a device of the character described wherein the closing ofthe electric circuit involves more than merely the actuation of a switchmeans. On the contrary, it provides a device having an open electriccircuit including a pair of contacts arranged in predetermined separatelocations and adapted to be bridged only by a circuit closing devicehaving an electricity conducting element arranged in predeterminedmanner whereby the element will register with said contacts to engageand bridge them.

More specifically, the invention contemplates the provision in theelectric circuit of three or more contacts located in predeterminedpositions with two of them only selectively connected in the circuit,and a key having three or more contact elements located in predeterminedposition with two or them only selectively connected for conductingelectricity. Thus, the circuit will be closed by that key only whoseconnected contact elements are located in positions to engage the twoparticular contacts which are connected in the electric circuit.

The foregoing makes available a large number of permutations in theselection of contacts to be rendered operable. For example, with twocontacts in the circuit and one element on the key, it reduces to thesimple arrangement of the element on the key being long enough to bridgethe contacts and being properly located to do so. However, with {ourcontacts in positions 1, 2, 3, 4 with, say, the contacts in positions 1and 4 selected to be connected in the circuit, and with the key havingelements located in corresponding 1, 2, 3, 4 positions, a key with theelements in positions 1 and 4 bridged will close the circuit. However,keys with any two elements such as 1-2, 1-3, 2-3, 2-4, and 3-4 bridgedwill not close the circuit. It contacts 2-3 were selected to be in thecircuit, then the keys with the following elements bridged would notwork: 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 2-4, 3-4; and so on through other selectedcombinations of the contacts and elements.

It will now be clear that the invention may find application in avariety of fields. In a preferred embodiment of the invention selectedfor the detailed description hereinafter, the device is in the form of aromantic heart, using an arrow as the key. As an inexpensive noveltythis would be attractive to the adolescent where the boy friend couldhold the proper key to light the heart. It is not inconceivable that amore elegant heart would be attractive to young adults, although notnecessarily limited to that group.

On the other hand, the invention would find application to many games.For a'treasure hunt, keys could be hidden and the finder of the keywhich would fit the device and cause a bulb to light, or a buzzer tosound, or whatever the signal of the device might he would be thewinner. Or there could be sets of treasures, each requiring a differentkey, whereby the holders of the keys would have to find the treasurewith the device which matched his key. Obviously many other applicationsof the invention could be pointed out but it is thought that theforegoing will serve as examples sufiicient for the present.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown merely by wayof example and in preferred form and obviously many variations andmodifications may be made therein and in its mode of application whichwill still be comprised Within its spirit. It is to be understood,therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific .form asembodiment, except insofar as such limitations are set forth in theappended claim.

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the device partly broken away to show thestructure;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the device partly in section to show theinternal structure;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the key partly in section to show thestructure;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the key partly in section to show thestructure;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1 lookingin the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view partly in section to show the key insertedin the device;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of the device with the key inserted; and

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the electric circuit.

Referring to FIG. 1, a preferred form of the invention shows the noveltydevice in the shape of a romantic heart. The heart shaped structure inthis particular instance also comprises a housing for containing the olements which make up the electric circuit; but it should be pointed outat this time that it is within the scope of the invention that aseparate housing attachable to the ornamental structure may be providedwhen necessary to mount the electrical unit. It will be noted in FIGS. 1and 2 that the heart structure 1%, which is preferably -made oftranslucent plastic material such as polyethylene,

is formed with a relatively thick body portion 11 provided with twocompartments 12 and 13 separated by a wall 14 and the compartments areclosed at the back of the body portion 11 by the plate 15 secured to thebody portion 11 as by a screw 16 fastened in a threaded recess 17 formedin the wall 14.

The compartment 12 houses an electric light bulb 18 threaded into afixture 19 winch is preferably mounted on the back plate 15, the tip orbase 2t of the bulb 18 bearing against a contact element 21.

The lower compartment 13, which is also shown in FIG. 5, opens throughthe side wall 22 of the heart struc ture 1t and in the area of thecompartment 13 the back plate 15 is provided with a plunality ofelectricity conducting oontacts 23. For the purpose of description, thecontacts 23 have been individually identified by the letters a, b, c andd for reasons which will appear hereinafter. As shown in the drawings,electricity conducting lead wires 23a and 23d are arranged to extend,respectively, from the contact a to the fixture 19 and from the contactd to the contact 21. As thus constituted, an open electric circuit isprovided in the heart structure 14 Referring particularly to FIGS. 3 and4, a key 30 in the general outline of an arrow is provided which is alsoformed of a plastic material as in the case of the heart structure 10.The key 30 is formed with an elongate compartment 31 locatedsubstantially midway of the length of the key and is closed by a plate32 which may adequately be held in place merely by a press fit. It willbe noted that the plate 32 is longer than the compartment 31 and thatthe key is formed with recesses 33 land 34 to accommodate the oppositeends of the plate 32. The compartment 31 is adapted to house a smallelectric battery 35 which is contained between electricity conductingcontacts 36 and 37 between which it has a press fit to insure the makingof a good contact. Electricity conducting elements 38 and 39 extend,respectively, from the contacts 36 and 37 to the region of the head 40of the key 30 where there are located four electricity conductingcontacts designated 0, f, g and 11. As shown, the elements 38 and 39 areconnected to the contacts e and h, respectively, and it will be notedthat these two contacts occupy positions corresponding to the locationof the contacts a and d of the heart structure. Thus, the key 30 isformed so that when the head 50 thereof is inserted into the lowercompartment 13 contact 2 will engage contact a and contact It willengage contact at and thus establish a closed circuit between thebattery 35 and the light bulb 18 causing the latter to glow andilluminate the heart structure 10.

It is pointed out that the contacts a-d and can be formed of electricityconducting metal embedded in the plastic plate and the key 30 and thatthe elements 23a, 23d, 38 and 39 can be formed of electricity conductingwire. On the other hand, there are available electricity conducting inksor other preparations which can be printed on the plastic material whichadequately serve the purpose of conducting electricity and, at the sametime, materially reduce the cost of manufacturing. Further, it is to benoted that the electric bulb 18 can be either of the steady burning typeor flickering type and, moreover, it may be one of the types well knownin the art other than the type shown which is screwed into the fixture19.

As already stated, with three or more contacts a-d and eh, the elements23a, 23d, and 38, 39 may be selectively connected to the contacts ad,e-h 'to offer a large number of permutations as and for the purposesnoted heretofore. Also, the heart structure 10 may be formed in otherconfigurations and the key 30 can likewise be modified in a formdifferent than the arrow shape shown in the drawings; and a separatehousing for the electric circuit elements may be provided which isattached to the back Wall of a structure having an ornamental facade.

At the expense of repetition, devices energized by electricity such as abuzzer or a vibrator or other unit may '4 be employed instead of anelectric light; and the battery 35 need not be located in the key butcan be located in the device or separate housing and the key formed withone or more contacts selectively arranged in a predetermined location tobridge a certain two of the contacts ad.

As already stated, the invention has been shown mercly by way of exampleand in preferred form and obviously many variations and modificationsmay be made therein. Therefore, it is understood that the invention isnot limited except insofar as limitations may be specified in the apended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

A novelty device comprising an ornamented heartshaped housing includmg afront body portion having two compartments for-med therein, and adetachable back portion, an electrically operated bulb mounted in onecompartment of said housing, said other compartment having a triangulartapered recess having an open base therein, a plurality of at leasttheree electrically insulated, spaced, aligned, substantially identicalcontacts extending into said triangular recess adjacent said open base,a pair of electrical conductors connecting said electrically operatedbulb with only two of said plurality of contacts to define on opencircuit to said bulb in said housing, a completely detached, separateand distinct self-contained electrical key in simulation of an arrowhaving a point adapted to closely engage in said triangular recess forclosing and energizing said open circuit, said key including acompartmen-t formed therein, a battery carried in said key compartment,a number of contacts identical to the number of contacts in saidtriangular recess disposed adjacent the point of said key which isadapted to be inserted into the opening of said housing, a pair ofconductors connecting said battery to a selected two of said keycontacts whereby said open circuit in said housing is closed andenergized only when said key is inserted into the opening in said secondcompartment so that all of the key contacts engage with the contacts insaid second compartment, but only when the battery is connected to thetwo key contacts which engage with the two con-tacts connected in theopen circuit to said bulb of said housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,238,696 Hanley Apr. 15, 1941 2,963,573 Ziegenbein Dec. 6, 1960 FOREIGNPATENTS 574,798 Italy Mar. 26, 1958

